In 1860s Kentucky, the neighboring Hayden and Colby clans have been at each other's throats for years, and the family feud turns violent when hotheaded Jed Colby (Noah Beery) murders an elderly member of the other family. Jed is put in jail for a long sentence, and most of the Haydens depart for the West to avoid further troubles, leaving behind only young Lynn Hayden (Randolph Scott) to watch the homestead. But when Jed is finally released, he goes after the Haydens, with Lynn on his tail.